How do I know if I should be claiming benefits under my ex-husband rather than my own. He made much more money than I did and we were legally married over 10 years.

Hi. If you meet the requirements for divorced spousal benefits, then Social Security should be able to tell you your approximate divorced spousal benefit rate and explain your filing options. If you were born after January 1 1954 and if your ex-spouse is still living, then you couldn't file just for divorced spousal benefits or your own Social Security retirement benefits without being required to apply for both benefits at the same time. You would then be paid basically the higher of the two benefit amounts, but your benefit rate would be reduced for age if you start drawing prior to your full retirement age (FRA).

You may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully compare and analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits. However, to get the best results you would need to get an approximate divorced spousal benefit estimate from Social Security, unless you have a record of your ex's Social Security covered earnings history.

Best, Jerry